Can you catch genital warts from someone who has never had visible signs of their own?

by Rachel on November 10, 2011

I was just diagnosed with genital warts.. My wife, and partner of 4 years, has never had them or even shown symptoms. The only other partner I had was over 5 years ago, and my symptoms did not appear until about 1 year ago. Is it possible that my wife carries the virus and transmitted it to me, even though she’s never had any visible symptoms of her own?

Genital warts are very contagious and are passed from one person to another during sex (anal or vaginal) with an infected person, or by skin-to-skin contact. It’s also possible for the virus to be passed on when no warts are on the skin. People who have many sexual partners put themselves at a higher risk of catching genital warts.

Genital warts are not usually passed on from warts on other parts of the body e.g. from hands and feet. Though very rare, it is possible to develop warts around the mouth, after oral sex with a person infected with genital warts

It’s definitely possible your wife carries the virus, even if she has never physically had genital warts herself. It’s also possible you got the virus from the partner you had before her.

It can take several months and even years for genital warts to show up once a person has been infected with the virus. Some people with HPV will never develop genital warts – yet they still have the virus and can pass it on to others.

I have personally had HPV for 6+ years. I contracted the virus from a man who wasn’t showing any signs or symptoms of the virus (like genital warts). I didn’t develop genital warts from my HPV till about a year ago. It took 5 years for me to develop genital warts! If I hadn’t been diagnosed years ahead of time I would have never even known I had the virus until the warts showed up.

I’d also highly recommend your wife get a pap smear done and have her get them done every year if she’s not already doing that. Pap smears can detect any abnormalities on the cervix caused by HPV. These abnormalities can sometimes cause pre-cancerous cells and cervical cancer.